Cuff link

ABSTRACT

For especial use in a barrel type cuff of a shirt, a drum encloses the customary cuff button sewed on one margin of the cuff. A pin mounted eccentrically on the inside of the drum extends inwardly through one of the thread holes in the button enclosed within the drum, penetrates the underlying fabric and passes through the registering button hole in the other margin of the cuff for clamping engagement with a conventional pin gripping device of the kind used in tie tacks. The resulting structure simulates the appearance of a cuff link on a French cuff.

United States Patent [191 Ferretti [4 1 Sept. 2, 1975 CUFF LINK 21 App].No.: 482,863

[52] US. Cl. 2/123; 2/128; 24/102 FC;

24/103; 24/108; 24/113 MP [51] Int. Cl. A41B 7/02; A44B 5/02 [58] Fieldof Search 24/41, 47, 48, 102 PC,

24/113 MP, 90.5, 49 CP, 49 P, 90 P, 90 W, 103, 108; 2/123, 128

3,831,398 8/1974 Davis 24/90 A Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam AssistantExaminer-Kenneth J. Dorner Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lothrop & West [5 7]ABSTRACT For especial use in a barrel type cuff of a shirt, a drumencloses the customary cuff button sewed on one margin of the cuff. Apin mounted eccentrically on the inside of the drum extends inwardlythrough one of the thread holes in the button enclosed within the drum,penetrates the underlying fabric and passes through the registeringbutton hole in the other margin of the cuff for clamping engagement witha conventional pin gripping device of the kind used in tie tacks. Theresulting structure simulates the appearance of a cuff link on a Frenchcuff.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP' 2% 3,902,197

CUFF LINK While the patent literature and the market place are repletewith examples of cuff links of the type ordinarily encountered on Frenchcuffs, relatively few cuff links, if any, appear to have been used onbarrel cuffs provided with the usual button and registering button hole.Despite the foregoing, it often becomes desirable to provide theconventional barrel cuff with links which afford the wearer anopportunity to convert the barrel type cuff to a French type cuff, atleast in appearance. and thereby add a measure of distinction.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cuff link whichreadily enables the wearer to cover the customary button found on ashirt cuff and display, instead, a personalized cuff ornament, ifdesired.

It is another object of the invention to provide a cuff link whichconverts a barrel type cuff into a shirt cuff which resembles theappearance of a French type of cuff.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a cuff link whichis relatively inexpensive yet is reliable and long-lived and has but fewmoving parts to get out of order.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a cuff linkwhich is versatile in that it can be used in connection with cuffs on awide variety of articles of clothing such as shirts, blouses, jumpersand numerous other types of wearing apparel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improvedcuff link.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in theembodiment described in the following description and shown in theaccompanying drawing, in which,

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of thedecorative drum and pin structure and a pin gripping device in thenature of a tie tack clamp;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the inside of the drum shown in FIG. 1,illustrating the eccentric location of the pin mounting on the drumdisc; and,

FIG. 3 is a median sectional view, of the cuff link installed on aconventional barrel cuff.

While the cuff link of the invention is susceptible of numerous physicalembodiments, depending upon the environment and requirements of use,substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment havebeen made, tested and used, and all have performed in an entirelysatisfactory way.

The cuff link of the invention, generally designated by the referencenumeral 12, is preferably utilized in combination with the barrel cuff13 of a shirt sleeve.

In conventional manner, one of the cuff margins 16 is provided with abutton 17 secured to the underlying cuff margin 16 by threads 18 passingthrough openings 19 (usually four in number) and extending through thefabric material of the cuff margin.

The other cuff margin 21 includes a button hole 22 in register with thebutton 17.

Customarily, when used as a barrel cuff, the cuff margin 21 isoverlapped over the margin 16 and the button maneuvered through thebutton hole 22 to form a eylindrical shape, or barrel, from which shapethe designation barrel cuff is derived.

In the present device, however, the cuff margins 16 and 21 are clampedin face to face relation, thereby resembling the arrangement customarilyencountered in the well known French cuff.

The appearance is further enhanced by covering the usual button 17 by adrum 26 including a closure disc 27 covering one end of an annular ring28, or collar, and defining therewith a chamber 29 encompassing thebutton 17.

The drum is secured in place by a pin 31 having a diameter sufficientlysmall in size so that the pin can pass through one of the thread holesin the button. By placing the pin 31 in an eccentric, or off-center,location as appears most clearly in FIG. 2, the pin is aligned with oneof the underlying off-center thread holes 19 when the button 17 iscentered in the chamber 29. Further, by placing the pin 31 in aneccentric location, any tendency of the cuff link to rotate about itsgeometric axis is minimized.

The pin 31 penetrates the underlying fabric material of the cuff margin,passes through the narrow registering slot forming the buttonhole 22 inthe adjacent cuff margin 21 and is snugly clamped in a pin grippingdevice 33 of the kind used in conventional tie tacks.

The outer surface 41 of the drum 26 can be provided with ornamentationsuch as that encountered on the types of cuff links ordinarily used onFrench cuffs, and the drum preferably includes a peripheral flange 43 toafford a greater surface area of engagement with the underlying cufffabric so that even though the gripper element 33 is pushed withconsiderable force toward the drum as the pin is engaged, no distortionor wrinkling of the cuff fabric takes place.

To remove the link, the gripping device 33, and particularly the milleddisc portion 44 is engaged by the thumb and index finger in customaryfashion and urged in a direction away from the drum. When the device isclear of the pointed end 46 of the pin 31 the drum and pin are withdrawnfrom the shirt cuff for use on another shirt.

It can therefore be seen that I have provided a cuff link which canreadily be installed on a barrel type cuff to simulate the attractiveand distinctive appearance of a French cuff with attendant link.

What is claimed is:

l. A cuff link in combination with a pin gripping device and a shirtcuff having a circular button with thread openings on a first margin ofthe cuff and a registering button hole on an adjacent second margin ofthe cuff, said cuff link comprising:

a. a drum including a circular disc and an annular collar mounted onsaid disc to define a circularly walled chamber capable of symmetricallyenclosing said circular button; and,

b. a pin eccentrically mounted on said disc, the degree of eccentricityof said pin being such as to align said pin with an underlying one ofthe offcenter thread openings when said button is centered in saidchamber, said pin having a diameter small enough to allow said pin topenetrate said one of said thread openings, said pin having a lengthsufficient to penetrate successively said one of said thread openings,the underlying fabric of said first margin and said registering buttonhole for engagement with said pin gripping device.

2. A cuff link as in claim 1 including a flange mounted on said collarfor engagement with the shirt fabric adjacent the margin of said button.

l l l l

1. A cuff link in combination with a pin gripping device and a shirtcuff having a circular button with thread openings on a first margin ofthe cuff and a registering button hole on an adjacent second margin ofthe cuff, said cuff link comprising: a. a drum including a circular discand an annular collar mounted on said disc to define a circularly walledchamber capable of symmetrically enclosing said circular button; and, b.a pin eccentrically mounted on said disc, the degree of eccentricity ofsaid pin being such as to align said pin with an underlying one of theoff-center thread openings when said button is centered in said chamber,said pin having a diameter small enough to allow said pin to penetratesaid one of said thread openings, said pin having a length sufficient topenetrate successively said one of said thread openings, the underlyingfabric of said first margin and said registering button hole forengagement with said pin gripping device.
 2. A cuff link as in claim 1including a flange mounted on said collar for engagement with the shirtfabric adjacent the margin of said button.